National Water Summary- Resources 249 Wetland Resources

M issouri occupy 643,000 acres. about 1.4 percent of we tland areas under the jurisdiction of the Missouri Department of the State's area (Dahl, 1990). Before the arrival of European set­ Conservation in cooperation with the North American Waterfowl tlers, wetlands occupied about 4.84 million acres, about I 0.8 per­ Plan. and four State parks that feature and preserve wetlands within cent of what is now Missouri, and were a significant component of their boundaries (Lower Valley Joint Venture Manage­ the landscape (Epperson, 1992). ment Board. l 990: Epperson, 1992). Before European settlement, wetlands primarily were associ­ ated with the major rivers and streams. especially in the State's TYPES AND DISTRIBUTION "bootheel" (southeastern area), which borders the . This area once contained about 50 percent of the State's wetlands Wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and and was nicknamed "swampeast" Missouri. Although they were con­ deepwater habitats where the water table usually is at or near the sidered impediments to progress, wetlands provided large economic land surface or the land is covered by shallow water (Cowardin and benefits to the railroad companies that purchased and harvested the others, 1979). The distribution of wetlands and deepwater habitats vast bottom-land forests of cypress, tupelo gum. and oak for tim­ in Missouri is shown in figure 2A; only wetlands are discussed ber (Epperson, 1992). After the commercial timber had been re­ herein. moved, these cleared wetlands were drained and converted to agri­ Wetlands can be vegetated or nonvegetated and are classified cultural use, and they remain in that land-use category today. on the basis of their hydrology, vegetation, and substrate. In this Wetlands maintain water quality. mitigate flood effects. pro­ summary, wetlands are classified according to the system proposed vide critical habitat for many rare and endangered plants and ani­ by Cowardin and others ( 1979), which is used by the U.S. Fish and mals, and are a source of recreational activities such as birding, fish­ Wildl ife Service (FWS) to map and inventory the Nation's wetlands. ing, hunting, and ecotourism in unique areas such as Slaughter Sink At the most general level of the classification system, wetlands are and Grasshopper Hollow (fig. I). Wetlands in Missouri provide grouped into five ecological systems: Palustrine, Lacustrine, Riv­ critical habitat for 15 animal and 4 plant species that are endangered erine, Estuarine, and Marine. The Palustrine System includes only or threatened (Rick Hansen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, writ­ wetlands, whereas the other systems comprise wetlands and ten commun., 1993). Also within Missouri, a large number of wet­ deepwater habitats. Wetlands of the systems that occur in Missouri land species are of special concern. Some of the endangered or are described below. threatened plants and animals associated with wetlands in Missouri include the eastern prairie fringed orchid, gray bat. Indiana bat, System Wetland description Ozark big bat, bald eagle, least tern, Neosho madtom, Ozark cavefish, and the Higgins eye pearly mussel. Palustrine ...... Wetlands in which vegetation is predominantly Missouri's location on the Mississippi Flyway makes the State trees (forested wetlands); shrubs (scrub-shrub wetlands); persistent or nonpersistent emergent, a favored wintering area for waterfowl and raptors. As many as erect, rooted, herbaceous plants (persistent- and 200,000 ducks, mainly mallard, but also pintail, green-winged teal, nonpersistent-emergent wetlands); or sub­ widgeon, gadwall, and shoveler, reside in the 21.600-acre Mingo mersed and (or) floating plants (aquatic beds). National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Missouri. As many as Also, intermittently to permanently flooded open-water bodies of less than 20 acres in which 200,000 geese and 300.000 ducks winter in the 6,890-acre Squaw water is less than 6.6 feet deep. Creek National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Missouri. This Lacustrine ...... Wetlands within an intermittently to permanently refuge supports one of the largest wintering concentrations of bald flooded lake or reservoir. Vegetation, when pres­ eagles in the United States and harbors as many as 200 bird species ent, is predominantly nonpersistent emergent at any given time. About I 00 bald eagles winter in the I0,670-acre plants (nonpersistent-emergent wetlands), or Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge in north-central Missouri submersed and (or) floating plants (aquatic (Riley. 1979). Missouri has five National Wildlife Refuges. one beds), or both. National Scenic Riverway, one National Forest system, seven State Riverine ...... Wetlands within a channel. Vegetation, when pres- ent, is same as in the Lacustrine System.

Palustrine forested wetlands ( and other forested wet­ lands), palustrine emergent wetlands ( and ), and palustrine scrub-shrub wetlands (shrub swamps) constitute most of the wetland acreage in Missouri (Epperson, 1992). Most of the State's wetlands are associated with rivers and streams (fig. 2A). The bootheel region is especially rich in wetlands. Fens are small (0.5-10 acres), palustrine forested or emergent wetlands unique to areas where ground water, underground streams. and karst topography lresulting from limestone and dolomite rock dissolution) characterize the local hydrology and geology. In con­ trast to most other wetlands in Missouri, fens are created by ground water, not surface water (Epperson, 1992). These wetlands are lo­ cated primarly along stream terraces and at the base of slopes in Figure 1. G rasshopper Hollow, a in the Ozark the Ozark Highlands (fig. 28). Vegetation in fens primarily consists Highlands of Missouri. (Photograph by Jane Epperson, of grasses, sedges, and reeds; however, some are forested. Fens Missouri Department of Natural Resources.) provide habitat for several unique plant and animal species, includ- 250 National Water Summary-Wetland Resources: STATE SUMMARIES

ing a disproportionate number of Missouri's rare and endangered C plants and invertebrates (Mohlenbrock, 1993). Notable examples B of fens include Grasshopper Hollow (fig. I) and Slaughter Sink.

HYDROLOGIC SETTING The existence of wetlands depends on specific topographic and geologic conditions that favor flooding or saturated soils and on the B hydrologic processes that allow the water to persist (Winter and Woo, 1990). Wetland hydrology involves complex water-flow patterns that are affected by regional and local geology, topography, soil charac­ teristics, and climate. Wetlands in Missouri are a result of d iverse surface- and ground-water conditions. Surface water collects in topographic lows,

and ground water typically discharges there. Soil characteristics A determine the rate at which water percolates downward to recharge the ground-water system or discharges from it. Fluctuations in lo-

ECOREGIONS A~/! -i- A. Ozark Highlands B. Central Irregular Plains C. Western Corn Belt Plains D. Interior River Lowland Jf_r•eac_itt-t-+--)~---:r-1-:f..-)-/-+--l--~Wµ.::,,.__

WETLANDS AND DEEPWATER HABITATS Distribution of wetlands arid deepwater habitats- This map shows the approximate distribution of large wetlands in the State. Because of limitations of scale and source material, some wetlands are not shown 90°

• Predominantly wetland 0 25 50 MILES

Predominantly deepwater habitat 0 25 50 KILOMETERS

Figure 2. Wetland distribution in Missouri and ecoregions of the State. A, Distribution of wetl ands and deepwater habitats. B, Ecoregions. (Sources: A, T. E. Dahl, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, unpub. data, 1991 . B, Omernik, 1987.) National Water Summary-Wetland Resources: MISSOURI 251 cal precipitation can combine with local geologic differences to whether these areas are able to undergo continued flooding and create transient or seasonal changes in the interactions of ground dewatering cycles. Disruption of this continual flooding/dewater­ water and surface water. Average annual precipitation ranges from ing cycle results in (I) replacement of the existing trees by less water­ 36 to 48 inches per year across Missouri (Waite and Skelton, 1986). tolerant trees and shrubs when periodic flooding is prevented (such The extent of wetland areas located in parts of the State with lower as occurs when are built along a river and the flood plain is annual precipitation rates, especially those associated with shallow drained) or (2) lack of recruitment of new trees in areas that be­ ground-water systems and surface-water runoff, such as fens, de­ come permanently flooded (such as occurs when a river is dammed). pends on the timing and amounts of rainfall. Other wetland areas, Water in fens is supplied by local shallow ground-water flow such as those along major rivers, are less dependent on local rain­ systems. These wetlands typically are associated with springs or fall patterns for their continued existence. seeps that discharge at the surface. In Missouri, fens occur in the The largest wetlands in Missouri are closely a'>sociated with Ozark Highlands ecoregion. The Ozark Highlands ecoregion is and are directly and indirectly affected by the Mississippi and Mis­ underlain by limestone and dolomite overlain by less easily erod­ souri Rivers and their tributaries. The flood plains created by the ible rock such as sandstone. If sinkholes (formed by the collapse of Mississippi and Missouri Rivers have resulted in an area of rela­ limestone and dolomite caves) become plugged, fens develop as the tively flat slope that has been flooded frequently. The wetlands of result of retention of ground-water discharge or stormwater runoff. the Missouri bootheel were formed as a result of the New Madrid Fens are sustained by water that has passed through highly miner­ (actually a series of ), which occurred in alized soils (Mitsch and Gosselink, 1993). 181 I. Lasting for several months, this catastrophe changed the course of the Mississippi Ri ver and greatly changed the topogra­ TRENDS phy of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (McCaig and Boyce, 1988). All of the land from Cape Girardeau south to sank from Wetland losses and the land-use changes that have altered IO to 50 feet, converting rich bootheel fo rests into (Johnson wetland functions and biota began at the time of settlement by Eu­ and DeLano, 1990). The subsequent flooding in the subsided for­ ropeans. As of the 1980's, Missouri had only 643,000 acres of wet­ ested areas fo llowing the earthquakes resulted in the formation of lands of an estimated 4,844,000 acres of wetlands existing in the large tracts of backwater swamps characterized by water-tolerant I 780's (Dahl, 1990), an 87-percent loss. Large-scale wetland losses trees such as cypress, tupelo gum, water oak, and swamp red maple. began after 1850, when the U.S. Congress passed the Swamp Land Backwater flooding in the major tributaries of the Mississippi Act. The act granted to Missouri 3,432,481 acres of Federal forest­ and Missouri Rivers has resulted in the formation of similar wet­ ed wetlands and overflow lands considered unfit for cultivation. The lands along their flood plains. The existence and continued survival object of the act was to promote in the Mississippi of these forested, scrub-shrub, and emergent wetlands depends on River Valley (Shaw and Fredine, 1971 ). The remaining 1,410,000

EXPLANATION MISSOURI I • Wetlands

1650 0 10 20 30 MILES I I I ' 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

90°

Figure 3. Palustrine forested-wetland loss in the M ississippi Alluvial Plain, southeastern Missouri, 1650 - 1975. (Source: Epperson, 1992.) 252 National Water Summary-Wetland Resources: STATE SUMMARIES acres were transferred to the State during the next few years. Shortly in navigable waters. Regulated activities include diking, deepening, thereafter, the land was transferred to the counties, which in turn filling, excavating, and placing of structures. The related section 404 sold large tracts at public auction (Epperson, 1992). of the Clean Water Act is the most often-used Federal legislation By 1912, about 3,500,000 acres of wetlands had been targeted protecting wetlands. Under section 404 provisions, the Corps issues for drainage statewide (Epperson, 1992). Stream channelization and permits regulating the discharge of dredged or fill material into damming also have significantly affected wetlands within Missouri. wetlands. Permits are subject to review and possible veto by the U.S. The primary cause of recent wetland loss, both nationally and state­ Environmental Protection Agency, and the FWS has review and ad­ wide, has been conversion of wetlands to agricultural use. Other visory roles. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act grants to States causes include urban development, flood control, and timber har­ and eligible Indian Tribes the authority to approve, apply conditions vesting (Frayer and others, 1983). to, or deny section 404 permit applications on the basis of a pro­ The most severe wetland loss has occurred in the southeast­ posed activity's probable effects on the water quality of a wetland. ern part of the State in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (fig. 3), where Most farming, ranching, and silviculture activities are not sub­ only about 60,000 acres (2.5 percent) of an estimated original ject to section 404 regulation. However, the "Swampbuster" provi­ 2,400,000 acres of forested wetlands remain intact (Vaught and sion of the 1985 Food Security Act and amendments in the 1990 Bowmaster, 1983). Wetland loss in the southeastern part of the State Food, , Conservation, and Trade Act discourage ( through ranged from 257,000 acres from 1870 to 1890 to 595,000 acres from financial disincentives) the draining, filling, or other alteration of 1900 to 1920. In the 1930's, fearing that this magnificent wetland wetlands for agricultural use. The law allows exemptions from pen­ forest would be lost, businessmen, residents, and local school chil­ alties in some cases, especially if the farmer agrees to restore the dren contributed their nickels and dimes to purchase some of the altered wetland or other wetlands that have been converted to agri­ last remnants of the once vast wetland forest. In 1938, more than cultural use. The Wetlands Reserve Program of the 1990 Food, 1,000 acres were purchased and became the Big Oak Tree State Park Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act authorizes the Federal (Johnson and DeLano, 1990). Government to purchase conservation easements from landowners who agree to protect or restore wetlands. The Consolidated Farm CONSERVATION Service Agency (formerly the Agricultural Stabilization and Conser­ vation Service) administers the Swampbuster provisions and Wet­ Many government agencies and private organizations partici­ lands Reserve Program. The Natural Resources Conservation Ser­ pate in wetland conservation in Missouri. The most active agencies vice (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) (NRCS) determines and organizations and some of their activities are listed in table 1. compliance with Swampbuster provisions and assists farmers in the Federal wetland activities.-Development activities in Mis­ identification of wetlands and in the development of wetland pro­ souri wetlands are regulated by several Federal statutory prohibi­ tection, restoration, or creation plans. tions and incentives that are intended to slow wetland losses. Some The 1986 Emergency Wetlands Resources Act encourages of the more important of these are contained in the 1899 Rivers and wetland protection through funding incentives. The act requires Harbors Act; the 1972 Clean Water Act and amendments; the 1985 States to address wetland protection in their Statewide Comprehen­ Food Security Act; the 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and sive Outdoor Recreation Plans to qualify for Federal funding for Trade Act; and the 1986 Emergency Wetlands Resources Act. State recreational land; the National Park Service (NPS) provides Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act gives the U.S. Army guidance to States in developing the wetland component of their Corps of Engineers (Corps) authority to regulate certain activities plans. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 requires a permit for con­ Table 1. Selected wetland-related activities of government struction or excavation in, over, or under "navigable waters'' of the agencies and private organizations in Missouri, 1993 United States. The Corps is the lead agency for administration of [Source: Classification of activities is generalized from information provided this Act. The Lake of the and the Osage, Mississippi, and by agencies and organizations. •. agency or organization participates in Missouri Rivers are the major navigable waters in Missouri. The wetland-related activity; ... , agency or organization does not participate in Flood Control Act of 1928 authorizes the Corps to construct and wetland-related activity. MAN, management; REG, regulation; R&C, res­ maintain levees, floodways, channel modifications, and various toration and creation; LAN, land acquisition; R&D, research and data col­ lection; D&I, delineation and inventory] control structures for the lower Mississippi River Valley downstream from Cairo, Ill. The FWS has section 404 responsibilities under the Fish and Agency or organization Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934, National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The FWS FEDERAL Department of Agriculture rrovides advisory comments to the Corps, during section 404 per­ Consolidated Farm Service Agency...... • mit-application review on the potential effects on fish, wildlife, and Forest Service ...... • • • related environmental resources. The FWS is mapping the Nation's Natural Resources Conservation Service ...... • • • wetlands under its National Wetlands Inventory project. Missouri Department of Defense has five National Wildlife Refuges that are managed by the FWS Army Corps of Engineers ...... • • • • primarily for migratory birds and federally listed threatened and Department of the Interior · endangered species. Fish and Wildlife Service...... • • • • • Geological Survey ...... • The NPS manages the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which National Biological Service ...... • includes 134 miles of the Current and Jack Fork Rivers. Natural National Park Service ...... • • • • wetland communities are common in the riparian corridors (the area Environmental Protection Agency ...... • • adjacent to a stream or river that is at least occasionally flooded) of STATE these rivers and their tributaries. Department of Conservation ...... • • • • • Department of Natural Resources ...... • • • • • • State wetland activities.-Under section 401 of the Clean PRIVATE Water Act, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources must ...... • • • certify that a proposed federally permitted or licensed activity will National Audubon Society ...... • • not violate State water-quality standards. If section 401 water-quality The Nature Conservancy...... • • • • certification is denied, the Corps must deny the section 404 permit National Water Summary-Wetland Resources: MISSOURI 253 application. The Department's Division of State Parks is responsible Frayer, W.E., Monahan, T.J., Bowden, D.C., and Graybill, F.A., 1983, Sta­ for preserving, restoring, and managing natural wetland ecosystems tus and trends of wetlands and deepwater habitats in the conterminous through the State park system. The Department of Natural Re­ United States, 1950's to 1970's: Fort Collins, Colorado State Univer­ sources, Division of Geology and Land Survey's Water Resources sity, 31 p. Program, with extensive public participation, has developed short­ Johnson, Cathy, and DeLano, Patti, 1990, Missouri-Off the beaten path: Chester, Conn., The Glope Pequot Press, 166 p. and long-term wetland goals for the State, as well as specific rec­ Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture Management Board, 1990, Conserv­ ommendations for achievement of the goals. Recently, the Missouri ing waterfowl and wetlands-The Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Ven­ Departments of Natural Resources and Conservation, the FWS, and ture: Vicksburg, Miss., North American Waterfowl Management Plan, the NRCS have been working toward a common wetland data base 32 p. for use by these agencies. McCaig, Barbara, and Boyce, Chris, 1988, Missouri Parks Guide: Wauwa­ The Missouri Department of Conservation is the State's pri­ tosa, Wis., Affordable Adventures, Inc., 43 p. mary fish and wildlife agency. The Department's Natural Heritage Mitsch, W.J., and Gosselink, J.G., 1993, Wetlands (2d ed.): New York, Van Database is an inventory of wetlands and other natural features Nostrand Reinhold Co., 722 p. owned or managed by the Department, as well as of other wetlands Mohlenbrock, R.H., 1993, Slaughter Sink, Missouri: Natural History, v. 6, no. 93, p. 25-26. considered by the State to be valuable. The Department also has Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the United States-Map supplement: developed a wetland-management plan to guide its efforts in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers. v. 77, no. 1, scale restoration and management of wetlands until the year 2000. The 1 :7 ,500,000. key elements of the plan are to ( 1) protect, restore, and improve Riley, Laura, and Riley, William, 1979, Guide to the National Wildlife Ref­ wetland habitat, (2) acquire new wetland areas, (3) identify popu­ uges: Garden City, N.Y., Anchor Press, p. 319-322, 335-341. lation goals and management strategies for waterfowl, wildlife, for­ Shaw, S.P., and Fredine, C.G., 1971, Wetlands of the United States-Their bearer, and fish species, (4) address human use of wetland resources, extent and their value to waterfowl and other wildlife: U.S. Fish and and (5) identify future research needs. Wildlife Service Circular 39, 67 p. Private wetland activities.-The Nature Conservancy is de­ Vaught, Richard, and Bowmaster, J.T., 1983, Missouri wetlands and their management: Jefferson City, Missouri Department of Conservation, veloping an integrated approach for the conservation and restora­ 23 p. tion of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The organization owns six Waite, L.A., and Skelton, John, 1986, Missouri surface-water resources, in properties containing wetlands, including , fens, flood-plain National water summary 1985-Hydrologic events and surface-wa­ forest, and wet prairies. Ducks Unlimited participates in wetland­ ter resources: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2300, protection efforts through its involvement in the North American p. 301-308. Waterfowl Management Plan. The National Audubon Society con­ Winter, T.C., and Woo, Ming-Ko, 1990, Hydrology of lakes and wetlands, ducts a considerable variety of public-education and wetland-pres­ in Wolman, M.G., and Riggs, H.C., eds., Surface water hydrology: ervation programs and projects. Boulder, Colo., Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, v. 0-1, chap. 8, p. 159-187.

References Cited FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: District Chief, U.S. Geological Cowardin, L.M., Carter, Virginia, Golet, F.C., and LaRoe, E.T., 1979, Clas­ Survey, 1400 Independence Road, Rolla, MO 65401; Regional Wetland sification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States: U.S. Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, BHW Federal Building, 1 Fish and Wildlife Service Report FWS/OBS-79/31, 131 p. Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, MN 55111 Dahl, T.E., 1990, Wetlands-Losses in the United States, 1780's to 1980's: Washington. D.C., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Report to Congress, 13 p. Prepared by Epperson, J.E., 1992, Missouri wetlands-A vanishing resource: Missouri Charles R. Demas and Dennis K. Demcheck, Division of Geology and Land Survey Water Resources Report 39, U.S. Geological Survey 67p. 254 National Water Summary-Wetland Resources: STATE SUMMARIES

U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2425